Anderson For Governor Auditor!
By Mitch Berg
The GOP gubernatorial field has been an embarassment of riches so far, for a good conservative. Tom Emmer, Dave Hann and Pat Anderson are all good orthodox conservatives; Marty Seifert is more of a pragmatist but certainly acceptable.
But with the 800-pound gorilla rumors that Norm Coleman is pretty likely to enter the race, some of the air got sucked out of the room.
And Pat Anderson, who served as State Auditor from 2002 to 2006 (and a very, very good one at that) has decided to run for her old office.
Good for her, I say.
Coleman – so says at least one thread of conventional wisdom – is going to get into the race, likely lose the endorsement but go to the primaries, and have an excellent chance of winning the governor’s office against the pack of gabbling hamsters the DFL will field.
Coleman is not the perfect conservative, but if the choice is between an imperfect conservatve (who’s voted to the right of John McCain and Jim Ramstad, for crying out loud) and Steve Kelley, Mark Dayton or Margaret Anderson Kelliher (especially since the MNGOP is unlikely to flip the House and/or the Senate this fall, not that that’s not going to stop me from trying like hell), the choice should be obvious, if that’s what it comes down to; I am hoping that the presence of strong conservatives Emmer and Hann will drive him to the right, one way or the other. That’s presuming we all believe the conventional wisdom.
But this is about Pat Anderson. She’s young. She articulates a conservative vision in a way that reaches out to people in the middle who might be sticker-shocked by the DFL’s coke-binge-like spending spree. She’s very sharp. She’s also been out of the public eye since the drearily unaccomplished Rebecca Otto upset her for Auditor during the 2006 election. I think four years in the public eye will set Anderson up nicely for whatever comes next.
I first predicted in 2002 that Pat Anderson would be Minnesota’s first female governor or Senator.
I’ll amend it; she’s got a great shot at being Minnesota’s first female governor or good female Senator.
January 12th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
I think this is wise. 2006 was a very bad year for Republicans and she got caught up in the wash. Rebecca Otto has been invisible and Anderson will be able to make a great case for returning to office.
January 12th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Otto, Otto…. oh yeah, State Auditor! I knew I’d heard that name before…
January 12th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Oh, carp. And here I went out and trade-marked “Anderson is Teh Crazee!” so I could retire on the residuals.
January 12th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I don’t see how going back to your old job can be viewed as a stepping stone.
January 12th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
May not be a great career stepping stone, but it would be fun to watch folks cringe as a real auditor was once again on the job.
January 12th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
She’s out of office. Being in office, especially with the profile she gave it last time is a stepping stone from where she is now.
January 12th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Jeff,
My whole life, I’ve been trying to invent a really cool palindrome of my own.
“Toot, Otto, Toot!” is the best I’ve been able to do.
That’s been the sole product of the Otto regime at Auditor.
January 12th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
First step on the political comeback trail.
January 12th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
“fun to watch folks cringe as a real auditor was once again on the job.”
Not to knock Anderson, but the other two guys in the race are real auditors too.
January 12th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Anderson’s bid attracted my attention; not because of her gender, but because I agreed with her positions and admired the way she handled her previous office.
We’ll have a female Governor when a qualified woman runs for the office…it’s not to be this year.
January 12th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
MON, I’m meaning an auditor who really has the nose for uncovering things…….and historically documented. I think Anderson probably wins on that account so far.
January 12th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Mitch, I know you said that it isn’t likely that we’ll retake either part of the Legislature. I wrote in this post about that very subject. Things are looking pretty strong, with the MNGOP having a great shot at taking out some prominent DFL incumbents.
January 12th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Don’t count yer chickens…
Or as we say at G.O.M.:
Speak softly and carry a big frozen carp.
January 13th, 2010 at 7:44 am
I know this post is chiefly about Pat Anderson, but isn’t it time to ask Norm Coleman to hang up the gloves? His record as a heavyweight (statewide races) is 1-2. He was beaten twice by clowns and his only victory came amidst special circumstances against a long past his prime political punching bag. While he’s a fine man and would definitely be a better governor that any of the DFL alternatives, it seems clear that the people of Minnesota have counted him out.
January 13th, 2010 at 8:04 am
Don’t know about that Elder. After nearly two years in the People’s Republic of Obama Normie might be just what the Independents want.